The present invention relates to a mower or mower-conditioner that has a plurality of cutter supports driven so as to rotate, and at least one of these supports is surmounted by a driving and/or linking element, such as a shaft.
On machines of this kind, the cutter supports are made in the form of disks. They are driven so as to rotate by means of a substantially vertical shaft which drives the first one of said supports and passes through it into a casing running underneath all the supports. In this casing, said shaft drives means such as gears which make all the other supports rotate from the bottom.
Moveover, on certain rotary mowers, particularly front-mounted mowers and side-mounted mowers having a considerable working width, a link is provided between the casing located underneath the cutter supports and a reinforcement disposed above said supports. This link is produced by means of one or more substantially vertical arms attached to the rotational shaft of one or more of said cutter supports. On side-mounted mowers, this link is disposed level with the cutter support furthest away from the driving tractor so as to increase the rigidity of the cutter bar.
These driving and/or linking shafts are generally enclosed in a cylinder of greater diameter to prevent them becoming entangled in cut produce.
When said cutter support or supports traversed or topped by a driving and/or linking shaft become worn, the casing needs to be detached from said shaft so as to be able to replace said support or supports. This procedure involves numerous dismantling operations which are tiring, time consuming and hence costly.